Wooden roof



J. F. 13| AsKl` WOODEN ROOF Filed sept. 11, 1942 March 13, 1945.

2 Sheets-Sheet l vwooden roof truss with 'margins of the plates.

Patented Mar. 13, 1945 ,Y UNITED ySTATES PATENT OFF! WOODEN ROOF John F.Biaski, oiiic'agg, In. Application kseptember 11, 1942, serial No.457,994 2 claims. i(wol. 10s-23) My invention relates to wooden roof.and

method of making the same and contemplatesv a plurality of woodentrusses, which, for 'lack of a better term, will be herein referred toas boX- like or of boxlike form. The trusses yare laterally spaced onefrom another, and the intervening spaces between them are closed byplywood panels to complete the roof structure.

vGenerally speaking, the invention contemplates the .construction ofboxlike wooden` trusses having roof and ceiling plates of plywood,withpipes constituting the struts arranged-along the side margins of theplates, so that a completed trusspwill have as integral parts a roofportion 'and a ceiling portion.

An object of my invention is to provide a wooden roo-f truss with platesformed of plywood panels. y

Another object of my invention is to provide a and pipelike strutsconnected along the side A further object of my invention is to providea wooden roof truss with upper and lower chords of vplywood panels whichperform the double function of chords for the Vtruss and form permanentroof and ceiling members. 7

A still further object of my invention is to provide a wooden roof trusshaving upper and lower chords of plywood panels which are connectedtogether in lapping end-to-end relation,

plates of plywood panels* with the overlapping ends of the severalpanels being those ends which are farther from the mid-length of thetruss.

My invention has for an additional object the 'I attachment of provisionof yangle brackets for pipelike struts to plywood plates.

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Another object of my invention includes the provision of` clip meanshaving prongs entered in the lapping surfaces of the panels as a `meansfor preventing relative movement of the lapped ends of the panels. n

An additional object of my invention is to pro vide a wooden roofVcomprising a pluralityof trusses laterally spaced fromone another withthe intervening spaces bridged by plywood panels.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a roof comprising aplurality of laterally spaced trusses with intervening spaceslbridged byplywood panels arranged with the panels of the roof vboards overlappingthe roof panels of the trusses.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a wooden roofstructure comprising boxlike trusses having plates formed of plywoodpanels constituting roof boards and' the ceiling memlber ofthe trusseswith the intervening spaces between the trusses bridged b'y plywoodpanels', with the bridging panels of the .ceiling overlying theceiling'panels of the trusses. v

Another and further object of my invention is to provide a light-weightwooden roof truss construction in which plywood panels are used as thechords of the truss and which, in addition, form the roof and ceiling boards of the truss, thus reducing the amount of necessary material belowthat needed in a roof construction wherein laminated rafters are used aschords and separate roof and ceiling boards are used' tol complete theroof and ceiling respectively.

A further object of my invention is to provide ka wooden roof trussconstruction inl which the usual laminated rafters are replaced byplywood panels which serve the double purpose of chords and coveringmaterial.

*The above, other and further ofbjects of my invention will be apparent'from the'following description and accompanying drawings.) f vTheaccompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of my invention andindicate the manner of practicing my thereof are as follows:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a truss embodying the principlesof my invention and constructed in accordance with my method.

Figure 2 i's av plan view of a row of plywood Vpanels secured togetherin end-to-end relation and constituting one of the plates or chords ofthe truss. f

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmental section taken through two vadjacenttrusses, yshowing the manner of construction of the trusses and :alsothe manner of securing the bridging panels to adjacent trusses tocomplete the roof.

Figure 4 is a fragmental ping ends of twor of the panels of a truss andshowing parts of adjacent 'bridging panels.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional View taken in the plane lof rline 5-5of Figure 4. l

- Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional viewtaken in theplane of line 6-6 ofFigure 4.

Figure 7 is a fragmental plan view of a portion of a roof showing theboxlike trusses and bridging members in place.

Figure 8 is a fragmental portion of a side elevational view of a clipemployed to maintain the lappingportions of the panels in place..

Figure9 is a cross sectional view takenv in the plane of line 9-9 ofFigure 8.

' Figure l0 is a vertical sectional view taken method, and the viewsplan view of the lap- 2 through one end of a truss, showing the mannerof securing the ends of the plates in xed position.

The drawings will now be explained.

A designates a truss shown in side elevation y in Figure l, in partialsection in Fig. 3 and in plan view in Fig. 2.

The plate B, forming the roof boards of the truss, and the plate C,forming the ceiling of the truss, are formed by a plurality `of plywoodpanels connected :together in endwise relation, as shown in Figure 2,and in lengths sufiicient to reach from end to end of the completedtruss.

In making the truss of my invention, a plurality of plywood panels I5are connected togetheri-n endwise lapping relation by bolts i6. Thevcentral or mid panel a of the roof plate B is arranged with both of itsends overlapping the adjacent ends of the adjacent panels I5, .as .may

be seen in Figure l. The successive panels in the -plate are :arrangedwith the ends-.of the panels .farther `from the Ymid length .of thetruss, A.overlapping .the ends `of the adjacent panels. 4This:construction forms a water-:tight roof l.and causes the water or snowto .drain off .the .roof without entering any of .the Ajoints betweenthe several -panels.

The panels .constituting Vthe ceiling :plate `C are .connected :togetherin like manner.

.Prior to the time the lapping .ends of the `*panels are lboltedtogether, fclips D v(Figure "8) are in- .serted :between .the lappingaces voi the panels. Thesefolips are made .of metal with teeth .Il .andi8 .struck vout .of the :body :of :the metal, `which extend in oppositedirections .from the -body .i8

fof thestrip 'These :prongs .arepointed rso as to .readily .enter thelwooduoi the lapping :sur-.faces 4vas the *bolts are tightened. Figure 6shows one :of Athese clips vin position. 'The purpose .of the clips isto serve as a means for preventing relative movement :between theVlapping por-tions of Kthe panels, which means is in addition to theconnection formed by the bolts.

After the `two long `strips of panels have kbeen connected together asdescribed, angle .brackets E yare attached ,along the plates adjacenttheir margins. Every bracket :is secured in 4place by bolts passingthrough the plates .and the hori- .zontal `flanges 2l `of the brackets.Every one of the vertical flanges 22 is provided with a single .bolthole 23.

The struts 24 are 'formed of pipe, with ktheir ends flattened as at 25,which ends are bored with single bolt holes.

The two long panels, as shown in Figure 2, Y

are then connected together by the pipelike 'struts 'in a mannerillustrated in VFigure l. The upper ends of the struts are secured tothe brackets E of the roof plate by bolts .26, while the lower ends ofthe struts are connected to the 'brackets E attached to the ceilingplate C by bolts 21. The angle brackets E are so disposed as to maintainthe struts in properly inclined position to function withthe plates increating a rigid truss.

u Referring to Figure 10, the end 'of a plate B is attached to theadjacent end of a plate C by one or more bolts 28. Inserted between 'theends of the 'plates are ller blocks 29 having the outer surfacessuitably inclined to conform to the inclination of the adjacent ends ofthe plates. Between the inclined faces ofthe blocks 28, clips D areinserted so that the prongs thereof enter the wood of the adjacentlapping surfaces of the `plates 4and filler as the bolts 28 aretightened.

In this manner the ends of the trusses are secured together againstrelative movement.

The trusses are then set up in the usual manner, and the ends supportedon posts, bed plates or the like, with the several trusses spaced apart,one from another.

The spaces between the adjacent trusses are then lled by rows of plywoodpanels F secured together in end-to-end relation and laid on top of .theyadjacent .margins of the `ceiling .plates C of .two .of theftrusses, as:shown in Figure 3. The panels F are secured to the plates C by bolts ornails.

A similar row of panels G is then applied to bridge the space betweenthe roof plates B of two adjacent trusses. In order to makeweathert'ight joints between the rows of panels G and the plates B,filler Istrips 30 are laid along the side margins of the panels of theplates B. The panels ci the row G are laid on top of these ller stripswith `the end margins lof the Voverlapping panel ends of the bridgingrows G aligned with the .margins of the overlapping ends of ithe pan-`els15 of the plates B, as may be seen in Figure 7. `'Ihisiconstructionprovides a roof of Vpleasing appearance-and without breaking jointsbetween the adjacent .row-s fof plywood panels, as :otherwise would benecessary.

To makethe joints between the plates B and -the bridging rows Gweather-tight, the end ctv-one :filler 30 lon top of the underlappingpanel l5 is brought :aga-inst 4the end :margin of the overlapping panelI5, as may be 'seen in Figure -6. The nnderlapping panel 3l of the row-G overlaps the overlapping end of the panel :I5 Aof the vpla-te B, awidth `equal I.to that of the filler 30. 'The 'overlapping ypanel-32, of`the bridging row G (Figure 6), therefore, is spaced above theoverlapping panel t5 of the plate B. `Interposed be- 'li tween thepanels 32 and 15, are other -iillers 33.

The l'lers are held in -place by nails or other securing means passedthrough .the lapping side margins of the panels constituting the platesB and the bridging members G.

I have found that this construction .provides .joints which areweather-tight for all practical purposes.

Referring to Figure 7, it will be noted that the bridging panels Goverlap the side margins of the plates B of the trusses, thus providinga roof which is not only weather-tight, but of pleasing appearance.

The provision of the ceiling members formed by the plates C and thebridging of the spaces between the plates C, forms a dead air spacewhich possesses certain insulating characteristics so that a roofconstructed in accordance with my invention will be insulated to anVextent not possible in a .trussed roof of ordinary construction.

.By way of example, it .might be stated that a roof constructed inaccordance with my invention for a span of approximately fty feet may be`made with plywood panels of three-quarters of an inch thickness for theroof plates B and of one-half inch thickness for the ceiling plates C,and the pipelike `struts may be -made of pipe of one inch outsidediameter. A roof constructed of the material of the dimensions given isin all respects strong enough and rigid enough to function under any andall weather conditions.

It will be observed that myinvention con; templates the construction ofa wooden roof truss using plywood panels for the plates of the truss andpipes for the struts. The roof plate B may be termed the compressionmember of the truss, while the plate'C may be termedk the tension memberof the truss. Thus, when loads such as snow, are'imposed on the roof,these plywood plates will function in all respects in the same mannerand accomplish the same purpose as that accomplished by chordsvconstructed yof 4laminated wood. Y

Constructing roof trusses in the manner stated reduces the lamount ofmaterial necessary to com-plete a` roof having a ceiling throughout theextent of the roof, as what amounts to the ceiling in my inventionfunctions as a chord of a truss. The invention aiords a complete roofwhich is 'covered and sealed and which is cornpleted with a fewer numberof board feet of material than would be required if the trusses weremade as laminated rafters and roof and ceiling boards used.

The plywood panels of my invention perform double functions-that is tosay, they serve as compression and tension members of the truss and assurface coverings.

In carrying out the method of my invention, I connect together aplurality of panels to form a roof plate B, and another plurality ofpanels to form the ceiling plate C. Thesepanels' are then set on edge,the angle brackets applied, and then struts are connected to the anglebrackets along the edges of the plates which are then uppermost. Theplates are then overturned to present the other edges as uppermost toenable application of the brackets and struts along the opposite marginsof the plates. When the struts have been so applied, the ends of theplates are -sc limited, as it Will connected together Vin the mannerheretofore described and as illustrated in Figure loof the drawings.

I do not intend to limit my invention to the specific constuction shownand described except only in so far as certainof the claims may beappear to those skilled in the art that ,changes in the construction andarrangement of the parts may be made without departing from theprinciples of my invention.

I claim: l 1. A Wooden roof truss comprising upper and lower. chords,said chords consisting of plywood panels connected together to form roofand ceiling members respectively, angle brackets fastened tosaid chordpanels in spaced relation along the side margins thereof, the bracketsof the upperchord being staggered endwise of the chord with respect tothe brackets ofthe lower lchord, and pipelike struts connected to saidbrackets to complete the truss.

2.. A wooden roof truss comprising a plurality of elongated plywoodpanels connected together in lapping end-to-end relation andconstituting the upper chord member, another plurality of elongatedplywood panels connected together in lapping end-to-end relation andconstituting Athe lower chord member, struts connected to each panel ofeach of said chord members along their side margins and inclinedlongitudinally of vsaid chord members, the overlapping ends of the saidseveral panels being those ends which are farther from the mid-length ofthe truss.

JOHN F.y BLAsKr.

